Nigeria@56

Nigeria as a nation is highly stressed and Nigerians as a people are under stress and that stress can only be cured through attending to the causes of the stress. President Muhammadu Buhari is the “stubborn” man who is not swallowed by problems and I can say that he is the man at the moment who can address that stress. When you look at w3hat is happening in Nigeria economically, even in the area of security and politically too, they are signs of the time. In other words, they are worldwide. And the solution needs a wide approach, not in terms of our training to take and take and take but the need to establish value to enable us give and give and give.

APOSTLE (Dr.) Hayford Ikponmwonsa Alile, pioneer Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE, served on the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for six years after his 24-year-stint at the NSE. In this interview, the spiritual leader of St. Joseph’s Chosen Church of God, SJCCG, throws his weight behind the sale of the nation’s assets to reverse economic recession.

Civil war hero and second republic politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu, in this piece to mark Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary, asks President Muhammadu Buhari to resist the temptation to reject the calls, especially from eminent people, to initiate immediate moves to restructure the nation, saying that is the only way to prosperity. In the last fewRead More

In this interview with Professor Patrice Lumumba, a former Director of Anti-Corruption Commission in Kenya and the Director of the Kenya School of Law, he discusses the challenges of fighting corruption. Lumumba, who was on Channels Television, expresses the hope that with a sustenance of the momentum in President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption, the dividends of a corrupt-free society would be there for all to benefit.

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, in this interview, speaks on the challenges the Buhari administration is facing to take the nation out of economic recession. Udoma is, however, optimistic that the economy will be reflated as soon as possible.

Mr. Anthony Olatujoye is a legal practitioner, and Managing Partner, Difgland Partners, a law firm based in Abuja. Before his foray into private practice, he worked with the Central Bank of Nigeria for 31 years and retired as Legal Adviser/Director, Legal Services. In this interview, he talks about the economy and restructuring among other national issues.

One of the enduring topics of debate over Nigeria’s nationhood is the question: was Nigeria’s amalgamation a mistake? In 1914, Sir Frederick Lugard amalgamated the Colony of Lagos and the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria with the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria. Thus, hitherto independent and culturally exclusive kingdoms, such as the Sokoto Caliphate, the Igbo hinterland, Oyo Kingdom, Benin Kingdom among a host of others, were forcefully brought under one political and administrative umbrella under the British Crown.

Second Republic lawmaker, Dr Junaid Mohammed, in this interview said the waywardness and irresponsibility of the Nigerian political class dragged Nigeria backward.
He also said for Nigeria to make headway, there must be elite political consensus.

GENERALLY speaking, it is beyond doubt that the security situation in Nigeria today is still worrisome. People are still cautious about moving freely within the country, even in broad daylight. The scale of kidnapping, robbery attacks, ritual killings, murder and other devious crimes, appear to continue on the upward trajectory. This is clearly a sign of the times. The security agencies are not fairing better in the blame game.

FORTUNES of the nation’s health sector have slumped following long years of decay and decadence, and there is no doubt that a repositioning is overdue. The transformation to a sector that gives reason for hope and cheer is desirable. There is a plethora of expectations Nigerians want from a health sector rife with tales and expressions of fear, sadness and death. Nigeria currently has some of the poorest health indicators in the world and attention should be more focused on improving these national health indices. Change must begin with the leadership through increased political commitment at all levels, enforcement of professionalism and a defined framework for health practice that clearly defines roles and responsibilities within the system.

The post independence economy of Nigeria seemed to be moving in the right direction with the regions taking charge of their resources. The economy was at par with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, South Korea, etc. The North, West and Eastern regions and later Bendel were running at par with the federal government. Each of the region was financially independent of the others. Fiscal federalism was in place. Civil servants were well trained and disciplined and were loyal and dedicated to their duties. Unfortunately, the military incursion into politics in 1966 disrupted the fiscal federalism structure of the nation and eventually destroyed the Nigeria civil service.

For people of my age group, we should mark rather than celebrate this independence anniversary because of nostalgic recollections of the exciting hopes we had for the country at independence on October 1, 1960.

Chief Don Etiebet, former Minister of Petroleum and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), believes lack of good leadership and focus are the reasons Nigeria is still backward in the comity of nations.He says the change Nigeria needs has started with the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.